Calendar of Events

We are honored to be home to U2's first ever U.S. festival headlining performance right here on The Farm! Our festival site is a beautiful 700-acre farm, located in Manchester, TN, about 60 miles southeast of Nashville and 40 miles northwest of Chattanooga.

https://www.bonnaroo.com

Encore Theatrical Company announces its Young Stars Series production of “Hairspray". Performances are scheduled for June 8-11. For more information, please visit www.etcplays.org or call 423-318-8331.

Adapted from the Broadway production that won eight Tony Awards, “Hairspray Jr.” is a delightful and fun family-friendly musical. It's 1962, and spunky, plus-size teen, Tracy Turnblad, has one big dream – to dance on the popular "Corny Collins Show." When she finally gets her shot, she's transformed from social outcast to sudden star. In balancing her newfound power with her desire for justice, Tracy fights to dethrone the reigning Miss Teen Hairspray, Amber von Tussle, and integrate a TV network in the process. With the help of her outsized mom, Edna, and guest DJ, Motormouth Maybelle, the rhythm of Tracy's new beat just might prove unstoppable.

For more information, please visit www.etcplays.org or call 423-318-8331.

Every 2nd Thursday of every month at Saw Works Brewery

Time to Celebrate Marble City Opera's 4th Birthday, and what a better way to do that than with a Free Concert of music from our previous season with local singers! Join us this Thursday, June 8th at Saw Works Brewery, 708 E Depot Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917 to help us celebrate our birthday and upcoming season!

Join Marble City Opera Singers for an evening of Arias once a month at Saw Works Brewery. Enjoy a beer from Saw Works while listening to fabulous singing! It's Free! Bring your friends and invite people to try out OPERA Up Close & Personal (the Marble City Opera way).

For More information on these events please visit our Website or Facebook. You can now follow us on twitter and instagram @marblecityopera

Marble City Opera: 646-217-1580, www.marblecityopera.com

“In the Shadows of 40” – The 15th Annual ETCDC Summer Party Fundraiser –; Drinks, Hor d’oeuvres, and Silent Auction plus Exclusive tours of businesses and residences in Depot Avenue area, within walking distance from the historic Jewel Building (UT’s Architecture Fab Lab) where event begins. Tours will include: Works in progress – Trestle of Fifth previously First Christian Church, Knoxville High Senior Living in Old Knoxville High School and several businesses and private residences (TBA).

Tickets are $60 and can be purchased online at www.communitydc.org or by calling 865-525-9945.

Time: 5 – 6:30 Drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and Silent Auction; 6:30 – 8:30 Tour of places and spaces
At UT Fab Lab (Jewel Building) 525 N. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902

Founded in 1970, ETCDC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to make East Tennessee a better place to live and work by bringing professional design and planning assistance to communities and organizations lacking resources. The Community Design Center offers its services through the pro bono contributions of area architects, landscape architects, planners and other professionals. ETCDC has assisted in a diverse range of projects, from traffic calming in neighborhoods to planning for Knoxville’s new urban wilderness. The sixteen Tennessee counties served by the Community Design Center are: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union.

The image of the tortured artist is cliché because it’s often true, and, more so, because we talk about it a lot. In fact we love it. It may be that it appeals to a strange human craving for martyrdom: we love those who suffer for their passions. But not all artists fall on their swords or mutilate their ears; for a whole bunch of them the creative process reflects an earnest desire to bring a burning passion or drive to create into harmony with a good, even calm life.

Dino Liddick is one of the seekers of calm. Dino’s exhibit, “With the Eye, For the Mind” is currently hanging in our Market Square location, and the work that comprises the show is built upon a foundation of mindfulness and kindness. Some of that is a reaction to an emotional life, and some is related to sheer practicality. Certainly the artist has responded to emotional crises in his work, but for Liddick, the art isn’t merely a kind of therapy: it’s a statement of being. “Sometimes somebody will ask me how I feel, and I say, well, look at that painting – that’s how I feel.” On his website, he writes, “Rather than pulling ideas from the mind to produce ‘art,’” he, “practices clearing his mind through the process of a piece.”

Rather than formulate a work, Liddick hopes the piece will come together intuitively without too much conscious involvement. It’s an effort to feel rather than to think. When he’s moved by a subject or situation, Dino tries “to go home and reach that feeling, and let that feeling come into shape. I try to paint the feeling and then put in the shapes – I don’t try to the paint the shapes and then put in the feeling.”

“With the Eye, for the Mind” by Dino Liddick will be on view at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head on Market Square from June 5th through July 2nd. The exhibit will display at the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from July 4th through August 3rd.

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

To kick off summer, Zoo Knoxville is offering residents of nine local counties $5 off general zoo admission Monday, June 5, through Thursday, June 8, 2017. Residents of Knox, Anderson, Union, Grainger, Jefferson, Sevier, Blount, Loudon and Roane counties are eligible for discounted admission.

Zoo Knoxville recently opened Tiger Forest at Asian Trek, a $10 million, multi-acre habitat for Malayan tigers and white-naped cranes. In addition to Tiger Forest, the zoo has a full schedule of encounters with animal ambassadors and talks by animal caretakers, camel rides and the Clayton Safari Splash water play area available daily.

The zoo is offering this discount to encourage locals to visit on a weekday before peak tourist season. “We have had a lot of interest from our local residents about all the exciting new things happening at Zoo Knoxville. We hope by offering discounted admission on days when our crowds are lighter it will encourage an early summer ‘day-vacation’ so they can experience it for themselves. Residents of Knox and our neighboring counties are great zoo supporters and our best zoo ambassadors for tourists visiting our area, and we appreciate them.”

To receive $5 off zoo admission, residents of eligible counties may show any identification with their address at the zoo’s ticket window. This offer cannot be combined with any other discount or coupon.

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

Opening reception: Friday, June 2, 5-9PM

The UT Downtown Gallery is pleased to present “Living On”, an exhibition of 24 portraits of holocaust survivors and liberators living in Tennessee by Robert Heller. Heller, a professor in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee since 1986, received his B.S. and M.A. degrees in photojournalism from Syracuse University. He taught photography and graphics for five years at the University of Miami, and was publications designer and photographer at the State University of New York College at New Paltz, and Elmira College in New York. Heller also taught photography at The Center for Photography at Woodstock, New York. His photographs have been selected for numerous juried exhibitions and he continues to do freelance work in both graphic design and photography.

“Living On,” has previously been exhibited in museums around the state of Tennessee and at major cities in Poland. A book of the images and accompanying interviews was published by the University of Tennessee Press in spring, 2008. Heller is a member of the National Press Photographers Association, the Society for News Design and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, where he has served as head of the Visual Communication Division.

Living On is a project of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, which is funded by an annual appropriation from the Tennessee State Legislature and by private donations. Assistance in the development of this documentary project was provided, as well, by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. The traveling exhibition was curated by Susan W. Knowles.

Please visit our website, www.tennesseeholocaustcommission.org, for more information on this and other public outreach programs.
This event is free and open to the public. This exhibition will run through mid-July. The closing date is TBA.

Free admission! UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sat 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

The Dogwood Arts Regional Art Exhibition was developed to showcase and award the finest artists of our region. Fine art encompassing all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists has been selected by juror Leslie Noell, Director of Programs at Bakersville, North Carolina’s Penland School of Crafts.

June 2, 2017: Opening & Award Ceremony 5:30-8:30 (awards at 7 PM).

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

A self-taught artist with a background in creative writing and journalism, a passion for advertising, and an unrelenting drive to make. Ryan-Ashley finds herself crafting copy by day, stringing together minimalist-inspired wearables by night, and reading books in hot baths as often as possible.

Ryan-Ashley has been teaching knitting for 14 years, and facilitates workshops on a variety of subjects including peyote-stitch beadwork, bead-making, fiberwork jewelry, intro. to leatherwork, and a host of other DIY-related topics. New to Knoxville, but eager to dig into the maker community, you can learn about any and all upcoming projects, workshops, and shows at http://www.smartandbeckercreative.com/.

Opening reception: 6-9 PM on Friday June 2.

RALA, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/

A public reception will take place on Friday, June 2, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The First Friday reception also features music by Bethany Hankins and Swing Serenade at 7:00 PM. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available.

The Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild (KMQG) exists for residents in and around Knoxville who have an interest in modern design and quilting. KMQG hopes to provide members with a community where modern quilters can meet, share ideas, and create in an environment that encourages creativity and acceptance. The Guild is a member of the international Modern Quilt Guild, whose first meeting took place in January 2010 and was organized by Alissa Haight-Carlton. Mary Beth Meadows of the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild took subsequent steps to establish KMQG in February of that same year.

The Guild will exhibit quilts made using traditional means and featuring a modern aesthetic. The collection will consist of works from KMQG members. For more information, please visit http://knoxvillemqg.blogspot.com/.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, May 29, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

A public reception will take place on Friday, June 2, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The First Friday reception also features music by Bethany Hankins and Swing Serenade at 7:00 PM. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available.

The artists who make up 17th Street Studios each have a unique background and specific creative inclination. Their differing goals result in bodies of work that notably contrast from one other. Yet, as these artists inhabit the same space, conversations are sparked, similarities are discovered, and a fusion of ideas take shape. As a result, the word amalgam, meaning a mixture or blend, identifies the work produced by the residents of this studio.

The artists of 17th Street Studios are Eric Brittain, Lesley Eaton, Jon Hendricks, Renee Holiday, Beth Meadows, Janet McMullen, Natalie Petrosky, Britton Sharp, and alumni Gwyn Pevonka. 17th Street Studios is a private work space for artists located in Redeemer Church in the Fort Sanders neighborhood near downtown Knoxville. Its primary mission is to promote the success of fine artists through affordable physical space that fosters community and support. To learn more, visit http://17thstreetstudios.gutensite.com.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, May 29, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

A public reception will take place on Friday, June 2, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The First Friday reception also features music by Bethany Hankins and Swing Serenade at 7:00 PM. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available.

Anne Freels is a full-time craft artist who has been making corn shuck dolls since 1975. She is devoted to the creative process of craft and especially the alchemy of transforming raw, natural materials into new forms. First, she dyes the natural dried corn shucks by hand; she then rolls and ties them into the doll figures; and finally, she embellishes them with a variety of natural materials and repurposed objects. Freels’ dolls represent her imaginative notions of folklore, legend, myth, and earthly and celestial entities as well as traditional Appalachian themes. Because of her interest in keeping corn shuck doll craft alive, she teaches workshops and classes and has authored an instructional book on the craft entitled "Making Colorful Corn Shuck Dolls”. Her work is available at various craft galleries and shops in the southern Appalachian region.

In addition to her corn shuck artistry, Anne Freels also produces her own line of natural skin care products under the business of Annie Egypt Herbals. She began by experimenting with making her own soaps more than 20 years ago and has since added face and body creams, anointing and massage oils, and other products good for the body and soul. All of her products are made in small batches using all-natural vegetable oils and pure essential oils. https://www.facebook.com/annie.egypt.herbals/

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, May 29, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.